Welcome, Pandas!

Two giant pandas named Bao Li and Qing Bao recently arrived at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

Roshan Patel, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Bao Li (left) and Qing Bao are the newest residents of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., received a special delivery earlier this month. Two pandas named Bao Li and Qing Bao arrived at the zoo after a long flight from China.

It’s been nearly a year since the National Zoo has had any pandas. China and the U.S. have an agreement in which China lends pandas to the U.S. in exchange for a yearly fee that China uses to conserve wild pandas. (The species was once endangered.) U.S. zoos get to keep pandas for a certain amount of time. The National Zoo kept its last pair of pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, for 23 years. When the zoo returned them, plus their cub, in November 2023, it was hard to say goodbye.

China has agreed to let Bao Li and Qing Bao, both 3 years old, live at the National Zoo for 10 years. Bao Li has connections to the National Zoo. His mother was born there in 2013 and returned to China in 2017. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian are his grandparents.

Courtesy of FedEx

Shipping company FedEx has transported many pandas on this plane, which is known as the “FedEx Panda Express.”

Mariel Lally, a panda keeper at the National Zoo, spent time with Bao Li and Qing Bao in China. She got to know them before flying with them to the United States. Lally says Bao Li is playful and outgoing. Qing Bao is quieter.

“Bao Li has a huge personality. He reminds me a lot of his grandfather, Tian Tian,” Lally told CNN. “[Qing Bao is] very reserved. She doesn’t always come when called because she would rather do her own thing. So, she’s a bit more independent than Bao Li.”

Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

This video of Bao Li and Qing Bao was made while the pandas still lived in China.

The new arrivals have been welcomed at the zoo with open arms, but it will be a while before the public can visit them. The pandas need to spend a few weeks in quarantine (alone)—something all animals do after traveling overseas to make sure they’re healthy. After that, they’ll have a chance to get used to their new home. The panda exhibit is expected to open on January 24, 2025.

The zoo will also have a panda livestream so people can watch the pair, no matter how far away they live.

NEWS EXTRA!

Celebrating Diwali!

The five-day festival called Diwali (or Divali) is observed each year in October or November. In 2024, Diwali falls between October 29 and November 3.

Diwali originated in India and is part of the Hindu, Sikh, and Jain religions, though it’s also observed by some Muslims and Buddhists. Diwali is observed differently in each religion. In Hinduism, for example, the holiday honors Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Homes are decorated with lights to invite Lakshmi’s presence and bring prosperity.

In general, Diwali is a celebration of the triumph of light over darkness, or good over evil.

People celebrate by feasting, eating sweets, exchanging gifts, and cleaning their homes.

Though Diwali lasts for five days, this year’s main celebration takes place on October 31.

Fun Fact

Panda cubs are the size of a stick of butter when they are born!

Election 2024: The Basics

REUTERS/Alamy, © Ariel Skelley—DigitalVision, lucky-photographer—iStock, Brian Blanco/Getty Images, © Iandewarphotography/Dreamstime.com; Photo composite Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

November 5 is Election Day in the United States. Americans will vote for the nation’s next president, either in person or by mail. (Many voters have already mailed their ballots.)

Elections are very important. Voters select not only the person who will run the country but also other government officials, like senators and governors. All these people make important decisions that affect millions.

As we wait to see who will be running the country for the next four years, here’s an overview of how U.S. elections work.

Who is running for election?

There is a presidential election every four years. The two candidates for president are Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump. Harris is currently the vice president of the United States. Trump was president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.

Many seats in the U.S. Congress (the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives) are also in play. Senators and representatives are lawmakers who represent their people in their home states and districts.

Some states are having gubernatorial elections—elections for governor. A governor is a leader of a state.

How is the winner of the presidential election decided?

When people vote for president, they are not actually voting for a candidate. Instead, they are voting for a member of the Electoral College.

The Electoral College is made up of 538 people (called electors) from every state and Washington, D.C. Each state has at least three electors, and the higher a state’s population, the more electors it has. In most states, the candidate who gets the most votes gets all that state’s electoral votes.

For example, Michigan has 15 electors. The candidate who gets the most votes from the people of Michigan will get all 15 electoral votes.

To win the election, a candidate needs 270 electoral votes.

When will we know who won the presidential election?

It can take a while to count the votes. Sometimes, the winner is known by the end of Election Day. Other times, the winner is not known for a day or more.

When will the new president take office?

The new president will take office on January 20, 2025. This is called Inauguration Day. On Inauguration Day, the president takes an oath of office, promising to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution.

Endangered Species

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, © Rixie, digitalpark, Leonardo/stock.adobe.com, © Satheesh Rajh Rajagopalan, Hotshotsworldwide/Dreamstime.com, Ann and Steve Toon, craig jones/Alamy, © kajornyot wildlife photography/Shutterstock.com, © Anup Shah—Stone, crisod—iStock/Getty Images, © G. Ronald Austing/Science Source

Giant pandas were once an endangered species, which means their population was so low that they were in danger of dying out. Thanks to conservation efforts, the panda population has grown.

But there are still many endangered species. Check out Britannica to learn how species become endangered and what can be done about it.

Word of the Day

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verb

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